Counting our Blessings and Giving Thanks

As we come off of a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday spent with family we wanted to reflect on the many things we are thankful for not only during the holidays but every day. So here we go in no particular order:

Louie our sweet rescue boy from Dogue De Bordeaux Society Rescue  . He was rescued in St. Louis and given the name Louie. (Yeah it was confusing at first but Lou is Lou and Louie is Louie.) Thanks to the Rescue group we only had to go to Oklahoma City to pick him up. That all happened 5 years ago this past October. Can't believe our boy will be six on January 1st!!! He got off to a rough start because he was so small and he had such HUGE paws to fill. Jake was our FIRST. First Dog as a couple, First French Mastiff/ Dogue De Bordeaux, First Rescue. Louie could never fill such huge paws with those tiny feet so he just made new paw prints all over our hearts.


I guess if we are talking about our fur family we can't forget our kitty babes. They are all ferals born under the porch. Lucia, Lily, Sophie and Leonardo. Leonardo lost his sister London right before the Western Design Conference this year. We managed to semi socialize them when they were little babies. They were inseparable and since she is gone he has been coming inside every night. He even sits on our laps sleeping in the evenings. You know life is good if you have a cat purring on your lap and a dog snoring on your bed.

You know life is good if you have a cat purring on your lap and a dog snoring on your bed. -CWQuallenberg2009

MeMaw and PaPaw own the home where we chose to build the shop. This arrangement gives PaPaw a chance to be a part of the design and building process as mentor and red pencil grade giver. (Teachers never die they just continue grading in the classrooms in the sky.) It also gives Lou company throughout the day. Working in the shop can be such a lonely existence. It is a good thing all the way around.

Our nephew Matthew and niece Taylor are our miniature apprentices that prefer to work on their own projects until they lose interest. Needless to say we have lots of started projects and few finished projects. But hey ya never know, one day when they grow up, they may find they love making furniture in the shop and enjoy being covered in sawdust. We can only hope.

Brother Shawn has been a great help going to shows, sanding, sanding and sanding some more. He may have inherited a bit of Papaw's packing gene.

Sister Heather has helped us whenever we ask and sometimes even when we don't. She definitely got that PaPaw packing gene. Her husband Terry is good at finding stuff and sometimes it's even stuff we can use.

Karl Rhoade's regular shop visits are a blessing bringing an artistic eye and a soulful approach to life. You can never have too much of either of those things.

Bob Pheil of Pheil Forges only two doors down offering sound advice, incredible metal work and a break from work here and there.

We want to say a big thank you to Jim Derby who has put on the Texas Furniture Makers Show for the past 10 years in Kerrville and retired this year.  We are thankful for winning the Best Texas Style Furniture Award two years in a row. Not bad for a Yankee!!

Our health has been relatively good the past year so we are definitely thankful for that. We have been down the road of health issues and it's not a journey we enjoy taking. We are still alive and kicking and all in all that's just a great thing!!

Our clients past, present and future are the biggest blessing we have as a furniture making company. We can't do this without you so we THANK YOU for your investment in Lou Quallenberg Studios.